Resilience, Stress and Well-Being in Undergraduate Nursing Students in China and the UK

Abstract

To test the differences of resilience, stress and well-being and explore the correlations between nursing students in China and United Kingdom. Globally nursing is considered a demanding profession and increasing attention has been placed on the psychological well-being and resilience of undergraduate nursing students. Limited international comparative research of the interaction between resilience, stress and well-being has been reported. A cross-sectional correlational design was adopted with a purposive sample of 444-second year nursing students, recruited from two universities, located in the United Kingdom and China. Resilience, stress and psychological well-being were assessed via self-reported questionnaires (Connor Davidson Resilience Scale; WHO 5 well-being Index; The Perceived Stress Scale) and a demographic inventory. Findings show the average scores of resilience revealed for UK and Chinese nursing students (26.70±5.11 and 25.18±5.61), stress (20.94±3.87 and 21.54±3.64) and well-being (15.43±4.38 and 14.93±4.00) respectively. Differing levels of resilience between the two countries affected by age and intention to leave was reported. The interaction between resilience and stress influences the psychological well-being of the undergraduate nursing students in both countries. Nursing students are experiencing stress, which is affecting their psychological well-being, but resilience is a protective factor. Intervention studies are required to ensure student nurses, especially younger students, are equipped with strategies to cope with stress during their education. The high prevalence of stress among nursing student is of concern. In response, educational, government and employing hospitals should develop measures and policies to support student nurses to help reduce stress and enhance resilience.